CONSOLIDATED ELECTRIC WINS AWARDS

Mt. Gilead, OH - Consolidated Electric Cooperative (CEC) recently received recognition in the 2010 “Spotlight on Excellence” national awards program, sponsored by the Council of Rural Electric Communicators and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Consolidated Electric, winning six awards, brought home accolades in the following categories: Melissa Watson, CEC director of member services, and Nikki Vanderkooi, CEC marketing coordinator, won an Award of Excellence in the Best Photo Essay category and Award of Mention in Best Special Publication category. Additionally, Watson won an Award of Mention in the Best Wildcard category and Vanderkooi won an Award of Merit in the Best Photo category, and Awards of Mention in the Best Individual Ad and Best Computer Graphic Design categories.

“ The judges noted the emphasis on being good stewards of each cooperative’s resources, while still doing the vital job of communicating with members ” said Maggie Tilley, administrator of Spotlight on Excellence. “ In difficult economic times, this has been especially challenging, yet, cooperative communicators rose to the occasion.”

A special luncheon honored the award recipients during the Connect 2010 Conference held in Kansas City, MO on May 12. Winning entries were displayed during the event.

The annual Spotlight awards competition recognizes the top-rated communication and marketing efforts by electric cooperatives and related organizations. Participants in the awards competition competed with electric cooperatives of similar sizes in 19 categories. Electric cooperative communicators and marketing professionals submitted more than 804 entries in the Spotlight on Excellence program, now in its 22nd year. Faculty members from the University of Missouri – Columbia and the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill judged the entries.

The Council of Rural Electric Communicators was organized in 1982, and seeks to advance the recognition, education, and professionalism of electric cooperative communicators and their affiliated organizations. It is a volunteer association working on behalf of more than 4,000 electric cooperative communicators across the United States.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the service organization representing the national interests of cooperative electric utilities, coordinates the Council’s activities. Other national organizations supporting the work of the Council are the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation, the National Cooperative Services Corporation, the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, and Federated Rural Electric Insurance Exchange.

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